Before we get started, I must apologize to the readers. I promised an article a day in our Wrestlemania Countdown and I missed yesterday due to a busy schedule. Today was just as busy, especially with the NCAA tournament going on, but I am here and I will finish this article if it kills me!
Last time you were here, you read about main event matches that never happened. This is a bit different, as we're going to change the focus from specific Wrestlemanias to individual performers. It's one thing to forsee a main event and substitute in another man, but it's another to be an over performer and simply never have gotten the opportunity to main event. These are the men we will be talking about today.
To be clear, this list is not about personal opinion. It has nothing to do with who I liked as performers and who I dreamed would get a push. This is about guys who were over with the crowd, had probably main evented other shows, and would have been believable in a main event spot but simply never got the chance.
So here we are, my list of men who never got to main event Wrestlemania, but could (and maybe should) have:
5. Lex Luger - His time in the WWF was short, but his impact was immense. After a short heel run which he probably could have ridden to the main event in and of itself (which would have been better than Yoko the heel in my opinion), but his greatest run came when he turned face. He was built as an American hero, the savior to end Yokozuna.......and he basically failed. For some reason, he didn't get the title at that Summerslam, but the door was open for Wrestlemania. The end result was Bret Hart winning the title that night, but Luger very well could have beaten Yokozuna earlier, giving us a much better main event. There's an urban legend as to why that didn't happen, but it still should have. The main problem here is that Luger was so over for that entire year and the WWF didn't capitalize on it. I'm fine with Bret Hart as champion, but Luger could have main evented a show with Hart. Perhaps if he was given that chance, he wouldn't have ended up curtain jerking by the next Wrestlemania and jumping ship back to WCW soon thereafter. Bottom line: if you are going to put tons of money, time, and energy into a performer to build him as the next big thing, at least give him a run at the top (well, one that involves a title or at least a Wrestlemania main event!)
4. Razor Ramon - The time period from about 1993-1997 was a pretty bad time for the WWF. It was a low point in between the Hogan Era and the Steve Austin Era, and everything about business was down. However, in that time there were some pretty decent performers. Some got to main event like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and Diesel, while others never got that chance. Truth be told, Razor Ramon was just as over as any one of those guys but after an initial heel push ended with a title shot and not much else, he never did get back up to that level. It's not something I understand, as his popularity was greater than a midcarder and so was his credibility. He very easily could have main evented around Wrestlemania 11 but was not given any opportunity to do so. I'm not saying I'd replace any match specifically in Ramon's tenure in the WWF (1993-1996), but I do know that he could have main evented a Wrestlemania and no one would have had a problem with it. Then again, had he done so, the nWo thing may have been even that much bigger and may have cripped the WWF even more.
3. Jake "The Snake" Roberts - Other than being the first man with a snake moniker (in a line that now includes "The Rattlesnake", "the Viper", and a man that used "The Cobra" as a finisher), Jake Roberts was a truly unique superstar in the earlier days of Wrestlemania. While others were yelling into microphones about nonsensical topics, Jake was speaking softly and coaxing his competitors into a false sense of security. If anyone truly coined the idea of wrestling psychology, it was this man. However, he never did get a real shot to main event. Part of the problem there was that Hogan was on top for so long, so few others actually got to main event. Still, this was a guy who was an incredible heel and would have made for a great opponent for Hulk at some point. If not then, he became a great face for a while and was very over with the crowd, to the point that he was arguably the second or third most popular wrestler in the company (behind Hogan and Warrior in that time). This guy would certainly main event today as he could sell a story better than anyone, but he never did get his due back in the day. He should be a hall of famer at some point, but that won't make up for the fact that he never main evented a Wrestlemania. At least Ted Dibiase got to do that!
2. Kane - You'd be hardpressed to find many big men better than this guy. His first Wrestlemania match was against Undertaker, so that should tell you that they trusted him right off the bat to semi main event. Of course, he was Isaac Yankem the evil dentist and fake Diesel before he was Kane so he did have some experience, but it was as Kane that he got a real chance to shine. While he never was as big a star as The Rock or Steve Austin (who was?), he was undoubtedly one of the biggest stars of the Attitude Era. Heck, he's still a pretty big star today, 10 years later! This is a guy that at any point between 1998-2010 could have very easily been given a main event at Wrestlemania and done well with it. He was and still pretty much is as reliable as they come, yet never has truly been appreciated. He's a lifelong main eventer and a solid one at that. At this point, we'll never see Kane in a Wrestlemania main event, but I was glad he got the one last title run that he always deserved. At any point between 1998-2005 I'd say, Kane could have main evented a Wrestlemania and no one would have batted an eye. I know it's probably better off that he never did, but there are very few who stay over as long as Kane has. All I'm saying is that he could have main evented Wrestlemania at some point. He's that good and he's stayed relevant for 13 years. If that's not impressive, I don't know what is!
1. Mr. Perfect - When people talk about the greatest intercontinental champions of all time, they often mention this guy. His matches with Bret Hart in that time were legendary, but he was always the better entertainer of the two. He could cut promos and had a character that was unique and over with the crowd. In this scenario, the obvious move is to elevate Bret Hart and leave Mr. Perfect behind, right? WRONG! This guy got the old "token title shot as a heel" against Hogan and didn't get much of a shot to main event after that. The problem there is that when Hogan was leaving, this was one of the few guys that was really over and would be believable in the main event but was never given the opportunity. When he turned face, there were few who could match his popularity and he very easily could have gotten a push then, but didn't. The most he got was a match against Luger in the semi-main event when Luger was still a heel. Imagine if Wrestlemania 9 was Bret Hart against Mr. Perfect in a classic instead of a crapfest against Yokozuna followed by that Hogan nonsense. How much better would that have been? This whole time period has always been a great mystery to me and I believe the WWF dug their own grave by pushing the wrong guys. The biggest mistake was not pushing Mr. Perfect though. The fans wanted it, the wrestlers respected him, and he would have delivered. It made all the sense in the world and it didn't happen. Now, we are stuck with the thoughts of what could have been and all we have to show for it is Perfect's untalented son......
I encourage feedback, but please remember what we are discussing. I am suggesting that these men COULD have main evented a Wrestlemania at some point based on abilty, overness with the crowd, credibilty, and believability in that spot. I am not suggesting that all of them had a specific situation where they could have done so but didn't. Some had that, but others were just talented and over yet never got the shot. Still, these were great performers that we all think of fondly, but will have to go to our DVD collection and watch them in the undercard of Wrestlemania. Oh what could have been.........
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